Smokable substitute material

ABSTRACT

A smokable material and cigars and cigarettes formed thereof comprising a mixture of a resinous binder comprising the homopolymer or copolymer of the hydroxy and ketone derivatives of vinylene carbonate and a combustible filler. Non combustible fillers may also be added. The combustion products of the composition are primarily carbon dioxide and water.

United States Patent [191 Briskin et a1.

[ SMOKABLE SUBSTITUTE MATERIAL [75] Inventors: Theodore S. Briskin,Beverly Hills;

Norman G. Schnautz, Van Nuys; Inderjit Sabherwal, Los Angeles, all

of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Sutton Research Corporation, Los

Angeles, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 22, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 226,267

[52] US. Cl. 131/2, 131/17 [51] Int. Cl A24b 13/00 [58] Field of Search260/37 PC, 9, 13, 39 PC; 131/2,l7,15,140

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,944,553 7/1960 Storch131/15 R [111 3,834,398 [451 Sept. 10,1974

3/1962 Grossteinbeck et al.. 131/17 AC X 8/1969 Kirkland 1310 PrimaryExaminer-Melvin D. Rein ABSTRACT 13 Claims, No Drawings 1 SMOKABLESUBSTITUTE MATERIAL This invention relates to a smokable material and tosmoking products produced with same.

Considerable effort has been and is currently being expended in thedevelopment of a smoking material as a substitute for tobacco. For themost part, such'reasearch and development hasfollowed two directions. Inone direction, attempts have been made to replace to bacco withnon-tobacco vegetable products in which the leaves are dried, cured andshredded in the manner corresponding to that employed with tobaccoleaves. While such other vegetable products are generally free ofnicotine, they produce harsh smoking mixtures in which the smoke ischaracterized by undesirable levels of polybicyclics and carbonyls. As aresult, such tobacco substitutes have not found ready acceptance as asmokable material in the manufacture of smoking products. t

The other course which has been followed by research and development fora tobacco substitute is a reconstitutedsmoking product in whichnon-noxious inert or combustible fillers are combined with an organicbinder oradhesive to form a sheet or product which can be used as afiller or wrapper in the manufacture of pipe tobacco, cigarettes orcigars. Representative of the binders that have been-used are suchcellulosic materials as methyl cellulose, carboxy-methyl cellulose (freeacid and sodium salt), and alginates, or natural gum such as guar gum,gum tragacanth,gum-arabio, and locust bean gum and mixtures thereof.Such binders burn with such strong odors and acridity as to detract fromthe taste of the smoking product and undesirable amounts of chemicalirritants and carcinogens are found with the smoke that is formed.

It is an object of this invention to produce and to provide a method forproducing a smokable material which burns at a desired uniform slow ratewithout crackling and without flare while it is being smoked; whichremains lit between puffs on a cigar, cigarette, or pipe packedtherewith; which burns with an ash of sufficient strength, porosity andvolume to remain attached to the burning end of the cigar or cigaretteformed thereof; which does not give off undesirable or acrid odors ortaste while being smoked, and in which the amount of carcinogens andchemical irritants produced during smoking is materially reduced if notentirely eliminated.

This invention resides in the discovery that a smokable materialembodying many of the features described above can be produced withinert, noncombustible fillers and with combustible ingredients andmixtures thereof when embodied in combination with a synthetic polymericfilm forming material or binder in the form of a homopolymer l orcopolymer rt r 1 Lin 4.1.1.

till.

Such polymers of vinylene carbonate and derivatives thereof form waterinsoluble plastic films or coatings and can therefore function admirablyas a binder or film former in the preparation of reconstituted smokableproducts when combined with inert noncombustible fillers and/orcombustible materials of the types previously described. The polymer (1)which consists of repeating 1,3-di0xolane-2-one ring system, in whichthe repeating units are coupled at the C and C positions, respectively,is capable of clean combustion to carbon dioxide and water, since allcarbon atoms in the ring system are bonded to oxygen atoms. The linearpolycarbonates should also burn in an analogous manner to yield verylittle if any chemical irritants and carcinogens.

Polyvinylene carbonate can be produced by homopolymerization of vinylenecarbonate by the process described by M. S. Newman and R. W. Addor, J.Am. Chem. Soc., 75, 1,263 (1953). The polymethylol derivative can beproduced by hydrolysis of polyvinylene carbonate, as described by Unruhand Smith, J. Org. Chem., 23, 625 (1958) and the corresponding ketoneshould be produced by conventional oxidation of the polymethylol.

Vinylene carbonate or derivatives thereof, copolymerized with olefins,such as acrylic acid, alkyl acrylates such as methyl acrylate or methylmethacrylate, or maleic acid or anhydride can be used asthe film formeror binder in the same manner as the polyvinylene carbonate, since suchcopolymers should also combust with the production of very little, ifany, noxious com bustion products in the smoke.

Representative of inert, non-combustible fillers whichmay be used withthe polyvinylene carbonate or derivative or copolymer thereof, in themanufacture of a smokable product of this invention, are perlite, talc,

.diatomaceous earth, titanium dioxide, silica and alumina, and mixturesthereof. Combustible ingredients which may be employed in themanufacture of smokable products of this invention are represented bycharcoal or other form of carbon, cellulose, oxycellulose, non-noxiouscellulose derivatives, degraded cellulose, non-noxious degradedcellulosic derivatives, nonnicotine vegetable products, and tobacco andmixtures thereof.

A smokable reconstituted material can be prepared of the describedingredients in a number of ways. For example, the inert filler and/orcombustible material can be admixed with the polymeric component andmasticate'd to form a smokable material for use as a packing for pipes,or for use as a filler in the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes.Reconstituted sheets can be formed of such materials by casting ormolding the mixture to sheet form or by taking the polymeric materialinto solution for admixture with the filler or.combustible ingredient tobe case or otherwise formed into sheets. Reconstituted sheets can alsobe prepared by coating afilm of the polyvinylene carbonate or the likepolymeric material with the filler and/or combustible material to form acomposite sheet product.

In addition, because of the water insolubility of the polymericmaterial, conventional tobacco .can be coated or impregnatedwithsolutions of the polymeric material, as by dipping or spraying,to-provide aprotective coating which operates to retain the moisture andincrease the strength of the tobacco product without interfering withits aroma or taste.

Reconstituted sheets of the type described can be reduced to shreds orpellets for use as a packing for pipes, or as an internal filler forcigars or cigarettes. in addition, they can be used in sheet form ascover sheets or wrappers in the manufacture of cigars or cigaretteswherein the filler comprises the smokable product of this invention or aconventional tobacco product.

In the manufacture of a smokable product, in accordance with thepractice of this invention, the polyvinylene carbonate, or derivative orcopolymer thereof, is employed in an amount which may range from -100percent, when used as a wrapper, to 2-10 percent by weight when used asa binder or film former in which the remainder is made up of the inertfiller and/or combustible material, as heretofore described. Variousadditions for the generation of smoke, aroma and taste and varioushumidifiers may be .added, preferably in amounts which would not exceed1-3 percent by weight of the smokable'material. In many instances, it

will be desirable to add nicotine for aroma and taste in amounts whichwill not exceed the amount of nicotine present in conventional tobacco.v v

Having described the basic conceptsof this invention, the followingexamplesare given by way of illustration, but not by way of limitation,of the practice of this invention:

Example 1 A mixture consisting of 90 percent by weight of finely dividedtobacco and 10 percent by weight of polyvinyle'ne carbonate, dissolvedin acetone, is poured onto a Teflon coated surface and allowed to airdry. The resulting reconstituted tobacco sheet can be processedand-utilized in sheet form as a wrapper for cigarettes or cigars or itcan be shredded for use as a filler in pipes, cigars or cigarettes.

Example 2 A mixture of 33.5 percent by weight of a non-noxiouscombustible filler (charred oxycellulose), percent by weight of calciumcarbonate, 10 percent by weight of magnesium carbonate, 1.5 percent byweight of Rubidium oxalate and 25 percent by weight of polyvinylenecarbonate, dissolved in acetone, is poured onto a Teflon surface andallowed to air dry. The resulting reconstituted non-tobacco sheet can beutilized in sheet We claim:

1. A smokable material comprising the mixture of a resinous binderselected from the group consisting of a homopolymer and copolymer of thehydroxy and ketone derivatives of vinylene carbonate, from which thecombustion products are primarily carbon dioxide and water and in whichthe vinylene carbonate has the general formula and a combustible fillerselected from the group consisting of charcoal, combustible carbon,cellulose, oxycellulose, non-noxious cellulose derivative, degradedcellulose, non-noxious degraded cellulose derivative, vegetable productsand tobacco and mixtures thereof.

2. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which the copolymer is acopolymer of the hydroxy or ketone derivative vinylene carbonate, and anolefin.

3. A smokable material as claimed in claim 2 in which the olefin isselected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, an acrylate, analkyl acrylate and maleic acid or anhydride.

4. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 which includes anon-combustible filler selected from the group consisting of perlite,talc, diatomaceous earth, titanium dioxide, silica and alumina andmixtures thereof.

5. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which the smokablematerial is in the form of a reconstituted sheet formed of the resinousbinder in admix-' ture with the tiller.

6. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which the smokablematerial is in the form of a reconstituted sheet formed of a film of theresinous binder and a layer of filler'bonded to the surface of the film.

7. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which the smokablematerial is a tobacco product coated and impregnated with the resinousbinder component.

8. A wrapper for cigars and cigarettes comprising a sheet formed of thesmokable material of claim 1.

12. A cigar comprising a wrapper of a combustible material and a fillerwithin the wrapper formed of sheets of the smokable material of claim 1.

13. A cigar as claimed in claim 12 in which the wrapper is areconstituted sheet of the smokable material of claim 1.

2. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which the copolymer is acopolymer of the hydroxy or ketone derivative vinylene carbonate, and anolefin.
 3. A smokable material as claimed in claim 2 in which the olefinis selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, an acrylate, analkyl acrylate and maleic acid or anhydride.
 4. A smokable material asclaimed in claim 1 which includes a non-combustible filler selected fromthe group consisting of perlite, talc, diatomaceous earth, titaniumdioxide, silica and alumina and mixtures thereof.
 5. A smokable materialas claimed in claim 1 in which the smokable material is in the form of areconstituted sheet formed of the resinous binder in admixture with thefiller.
 6. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which thesmokable material is in the form of a reconstituted sheet formed of afilm of the resinous binder and a layer of filler bonded to the surfaceof the film.
 7. A smokable material as claimed in claim 1 in which thesmokable material is a tobacco product coated and impregnated with theresinous binder component.
 8. A wrapper for cigars and cigarettescomprising a sheet formed of the smokable material of claim
 1. 9. Afiller for pipes, cigars and cigarettes comprising shreds of thesmokable material of claim
 1. 10. A cigarette comprising a wrapperformed of a combustible material and a filler within the wrapper of thesmokable material of claim 1 reduced to shreds.
 11. A cigarette asclaimed in claim 10 in which the wrapper is formed of the smokablematerial of claim
 1. 12. A cigar comprising a wrapper of a combustiblematerial and a filler within the wrapper formed of sheets of thesmokable material of claim
 1. 13. A cigar as claimed in claim 12 inwhich the wrapper is a reconstituted sheet of the smokable material ofclaim 1.